Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About Us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 30 beautiful acoustic guitar chords
  • 86000+ free music samples

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Tuition

30-day guitar challenge, day 6: Reimagine open campfire chords

By Adrian Clark
( Guitarist )
published 6 August 2015

Shift those open chord positions for shimmering new voicings

Cadd9

Cadd9

30-day guitar challenge: For this week's chord challenge, let’s start off easy and have a bit of fun by taking basic ‘campfire’ chord shapes and moving them to different positions.

This is the standard open G shape, but shifted up five frets, creating a C chord. However, those two open strings don’t move, so we get a whole new type of chord.

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
A7sus2

A7sus2

Here, we’ve moved the A minor shape up seven frets, and the resulting chord is still a variant of A minor, but with a much more intriguing sound.

Alternatively, play this at the 6th fret for a nice D minor alternative.

Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
Fmaj9

Fmaj9

The first chord shape most of us ever learn… the good old open C major. However, in this example it’s been moved up five frets to create a shimmeringly lovely F chord.

Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Dm7

Dm7

Finally, we’ve taken the basic D major shape and moved it up three frets, creating a D minor chord.

You can play through these four as a progression (or jumble them up any way you want). Compare with the standard C-Am-F-Dm version!

Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
Adrian Clark
Social Links Navigation
More about guitars
Kramer Lzzy Hale Voyager

Lzzy Hale and Kramer team up for one of the loudest looking electric guitars you’ll see – a Voyager finished in high-voltage Black Diamond Holographic Sparkle

Crazy Tube Circuits Hi Power

Nail David Gilmour’s Wish You Were Here tones with Crazy Tube Circuits’ Hi Power, an amp-in-a-box drive pedal based on a Hiwatt amp and Coloursound Power Boost

Latest
Jackson MJ Series Roads RR24MG

Jackson expands its Japanese made MJ Series with a pair of high-end shred-ready RR24MGs in two classic pinstripe finishes

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Learn how to slide and boogie like Keith Richards on The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed album

By Steve Allsworth19 October 2023

How to design a glassy and ethereal pad sound

By Dave Gale13 October 2023

John Mayer's guitar playing: 5 things you can learn

By Richard Barrett3 October 2023

Learn 4 key guitar chords from classic grunge songs

By Leigh Fuge30 September 2023

Computer Music 327 November 2023: free downloads

By Computer Music27 September 2023

Learn 5 classic blues guitar licks from Albert, Freddie and BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton

By Leigh Fuge25 September 2023

10 famous rock guitar solos and what you can learn from them

By Leigh Fuge21 September 2023

How to design a punchy, radio-ready synth bass sound

By Dave Gale18 September 2023

How to liven up your mix with legendary Fairchild compression

By Andy Jones12 September 2023

How to add level rides to a mix

By Jon Musgrave11 September 2023

How to get a vintage tape sound like the Studer J37

By Andy Jones11 September 2023

  1. Telecaster guitar
    1
    The 7 ways I learned to improve my guitar tone – that won't cost you money
  2. 2
    "It's just a good-looking toy": Is it worth buying a Teenage Engineering EP-133 KO II when you can do everything that it does (and more) on a free app?
  3. 3
    Learn four guitar chords from Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits songs
  4. 4
    7 of the best new hardware synths in 2023
  5. 5
    “I don’t want to generalise and say that he made everything sound good, but he did”: Joe Satriani reveals his strategy for replicating Eddie Van Halen’s tone on upcoming Sammy Hagar tour
  1. Find out why this Oberheim OB-Xa clone is being sold for “way below the actual value”
    1
    Believe it or not, the Behringer UB-Xa synth is now on sale - and it’s even cheaper than we thought it was going to be
  2. 2
    7 of the best new hardware synths in 2023
  3. 3
    “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called soundcheck”: Watch Prince shred on his Yellow Cloud guitar as the NPG warm up for their Special Olympics 1991 set
  4. 4
    Japanese ambient musician Michiru Aoyama has woken at 5am to record a new album every day since 2021 – he's now earning $3,000 a month from his music on Spotify and Bandcamp
  5. 5
    “The union passed a motion to ban the use of synths, drum machines and any electronic devices”: the day the 'Loony' Musician's Union tried to kill the synthesizer (which also happened to be Bob Moog’s birthday)

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.